OPSEC SECURITY GROUP PLC 
By October 9, 2013
OpSec Security, Inc., the global leader in anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, today released the results of recent online surveillance uncovering a substantial number of illicit health and beauty products available on popular online trading platforms. Many of the recent discoveries remain consistent with prior OpSec research, proving that counterfeiting continues to expand beyond high cost, luxury goods into everyday personal care items such as toothpaste, shampoo and nail polish. This illicit activity poses a threat to brand reputation as well as serious risks to consumer safety. Some have reported imitation perfume containing dangerous chemicals such as urine and antifreeze, while other have experienced toxic amounts of lead in counterfeit mascara. The surveillance also sheds light on new tactics employed by counterfeiters.
OpSec used its proprietary Internet monitoring platform to identify listings of health and beauty products on business-to-business (B2B) trade boards and business-to-consumer (B2C) trading platforms within the following categories: shampoo, toothpaste, teeth whitening strips and mascara. OpSec found numerous suspect listings and noted the following disturbing trends:
- More than 40,000 dubious sellers offered brand name products and packaging in massive quantities. For example, a top seller on a popular auction site posted a listing with more than 100,000 units of a name brand shampoo available. What makes this listing suspicious is that brand owners use existing supply chain distributors to bring their products to consumers - not trading platforms. Thus, it's quite clear this is an Asian factory offering to produce counterfeit product - with no quality control - for a distributor of counterfeits.
- Many listings go so far as to show pictures of the factories where these items are produced, raising a red flag. In reality, brand owners do not want to highlight the fact that their products are produced in Asian factories. The pictures present in these type of ads are from factory owners (or their affiliates) "advertising" their manufacturing prowess to distributors of counterfeits.
- One listing, offering a name brand toothpaste at 6,000,000 units per month (which itself is a red flag), displays what appears to be photos of the factory and claims that the product is "suitable for adults, kids, home, travel, prison or hotel use." The listing also includes an image of "Crystal" toothpaste that looks startlingly similar to Crest toothpaste packaging. The monthly amount they are willing to produce, the promotion of prison use and the fake Crystal brand alongside P&G's Crest all indicate that this is a counterfeit factory willing and able to produce anything a buyer wishes.
- A Chinese manufacturer on a leading trade board offered a quantity of more than 1,000,000 units per month of a brand name mascara. Another listing for mascara features an infringed image and negative buyer feedback, both of which harm the actual product and brand's reputation.
- One seller, offering a popular brand of teeth whitening strips, offers discounts on bulk purchases and claims to avoid tax issues by noting "gift" on the item. This is a tactic counterfeiters often employ to not only avoid taxes for the purchaser but to help them import product.
"Given the high consumer demand for inexpensive make-up, hair and skincare products, we've noticed a disturbing uptick when it comes to the counterfeiting of everyday health and beauty products," said Mark Turnage, CEO, OpSec Security. "Counterfeiters are unscrupulous people who simply don't care what goes into a product consumers will eventually use on their bodies. The more consumers, retailers and others in the supply chain purchase items through the Internet, the easier it is for counterfeiters to produce and ship their fake goods to the rest of the world.
As such, we work tirelessly protect the public and brands alike on every front counterfeiters target."
To provide an extra line of defense against counterfeiters, OpSec has identified key suspicious behavior indicators characteristic of questionable sellers, which can be viewed here: http://blog.opsecsecurity.com/suspicious-behavior-indicators-to-identify-suspect-listings-on-e-commerce-sites.
About OpSec Security
OpSec Security, Inc. is the market leader in fighting counterfeits for brands, transaction cards and government documents and currency. OpSec delivers a comprehensive suite of end-to-end solutions, including advanced physical security technologies, supply chain track and trace services, and online and e-commerce monitoring and analysis for more than 300 companies across industry sectors and 50 governments worldwide. OpSec is a wholly-owned division of OpSec Security Group plc (London AIM: OSG) and operates manufacturing and software development facilities and laboratories in the USA and the UK, and Germany and has sales operations in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.www.opsecsecurity.com. Follow OpSec on Twitter @BrandSecure and LinkedIn.
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